History of China in the 1950s and 1960s Quiz

Answer: Tibet

After the fall of Qing dynasty in 1912, the Manchu troops were escorted out of Tibet. In January 1913, Thubten Gyasto, the 13th Dalai Lama returned to Tibet to resume his duties as the political and spiritual leader. In 1951, China claimed the state was "liberated" by the PLA troops.

In 1959, a rebellion in Tibet was pacified by the PLA. About 2000 died during the 3 days of fighting. The 14th Dalai Lama escaped to India. About 80000 Tibetans fled to Nepal, India, Bhutan and Europe. In 1964, Tibet was made an Autonomous Region.

Answer: Land Reform and Marriage

Land reforms were immediately implemented by the distribution of lands, animals and machineries to the peasants. The land reforms were completed in 1951. Between 1949 and 1953, an estimated 1 million landowners were put on trial and were designated as "evil" owners. They were executed, whilst those who were spared were sent to the re-education camps.

Marriage reform stopped the practice of polygamy and arranged marriages. The law made it easier for married couple to divorce.

Answer: Indonesia

The Bandung Conference which took place from April 18-14 was attended by 29 nations which represented about 50% of the world's population. Premier Zhou Enlai represented China at the conference. In addition to the above, other topics discussed were opposition to French colonialism in North Africa, foundations for peaceful relations with China and Indonesia's desire to resolve with the Netherlands over the dispute on western New Guinea (aka Irian Jaya).

The meeting also led to the establishment of Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade in 1961.

Answer: Hundred Flowers Campaign

The campaign backfired as the Mao did not expect more negative views than positive ones from the intellectuals. After being embarrassed by the negative comments, Mao realized his mistake and organized Anti-Rightist Campaign to eliminate the intellectuals who gave the more critical negative views.

Answer: To hasten industrialization and collectivization to transform the country

They wanted to use its large population to form large-scale rural communes, to speed up industrialization and agricultural production. They hoped to do so by using labor intensive developments rather going through the slow process of industrial development and gradual built up of capital to purchase machinery.

Many peasants gave their away farming tools to the backyard furnaces for industrial production. Officials were competing with each other to give false reports on industrial and agricultural production to impress their superiors. From 1959 to 1962, the largest famine in history caused an estimated 14-30 million deaths from starvation.

Answer: USSR restricted the transfer of science and technology

Although Mao always ignored instructions from Stalin, he still respected Stalin as a world leader. After Stalin's death in 1953, Mao resented Nikita Khrushchev for failing to respect him as a senior political figure.

In 1959, Khrushchev had a summit meeting with President Eisenhower trying to tilt the balance of power against China. The Soviets were unwilling to transfer their nuclear technology to the Chinese to support their border dispute against India. The dispute became public when leaders from both sides openly clashed in 1960.

Answer: Nuclear

Due to the deteriorating relation with USSR, the Chinese had to rely upon themselves to develop nuclear technology. They successfully tested their first atomic bomb in 1964 and their first hydrogen bomb in 1967.

Answer: Mao's writings and speeches

The book was the quotations from Mao Zedong based on his writings and speeches. An estimated 6.5 billion copies were printed from 1964 to 1976 and were widely distributed during the Cultural Revolution. "The Little Red Book" elevated the status of Mao to cult level especially among the young people.

Answer: 1966

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was probably the worst period in the history of Communist China. "Red Guards" consisting mainly of teenage students went around the country destroying anything related to the West, capitalism, religion and tradition. The "criminals" were openly criticized, beaten and made to wear display boards around their necks describing the crimes they committed.

The ten years of madness from 1966 to 1976 destroyed the foundations of schools and education systems. Mao used the campaign to purge leaders who disagreed with his handling of the Great Leap Forward campaign. They argued that the country should rely more on expertise and material incentives to develop the economy.

The Chinese government has openly admitted in recent reports that the Cultural Revolution was a mistake they should not repeat again.

Answer: USSR

In March 1969, the most serious conflicts were in the vicinity of Zhenbao Island located on the Ussuri River (aka Damanskii Island in Russia). Soviet border guards were ambushed by Chinese troops and suffered casualties of 31 dead and 14 wounded. The Russians retaliated on March 15 by shelling Chinese troops along the bank of Ussuri River followed by an attack on Zhenbao Island.

The Russian claimed 800 Chinese casualties, which the Chinese denied and claimed they suffered only a few casualties. Zenbao Island was given to China after the collapse of USSR.